Thu, October 11, 2007 7:00 pm at Alwan for the Arts

Israel-Palestine on Record: How the New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East. Richard Falk and Howard Friel. (Verso). 2007. 352 p.

A detailed indictment of the "New York Times'" coverage of Israel-Palestine. In this scathing analysis of Israel-Palestine coverage in the US media, Howard Friel and Richard Falk reveal the persistent ways the "New York Times" has ignored principles of interna-tional law in order to shield its readers from Israel 's lawlessness. While the "Times" publishes dozens of front-page stories and extensive commentary on the killings of Israelis, it publishes very few such stories on the killings of Palestinians, and mostly ignores the extensive documentation of massive violations of Palestinian human rights by the government of Israel . Furthermore, the "Times" regularly ignores or under-reports a multitude of critical legal issues pertaining to Israel's policies, including Israel's expropriation and settlement of Palestinian land, the two-tier system of laws based on national origin evocative of South Africa's apartheid regime, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and use of deadly force against Palestinians. These journalistic practices have not only shielded the extent of Israel 's transgressions from the American electorate, which is Israel 's main source of financial and military support, it has severely diminished our understanding of the Middle East and of US foreign policy in general.

“The Record of the Paper should be read and pondered carefully, and taken as a call for action by concerned citizens.” — Noam Chomsky

About the Author

Howard Friel writes on the news media and international law and is coauthor (with Falk) of The Record of the Paper: How The New York Times Misreports US Foreign Policy (Verso, 2004). Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor (Emeritus) of International Law and Practice at Princeton University, and is currently Visiting Professor of Global Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.